I'm making this beautiful beret http://sockpixie.blogspot.com/2008/1...ary-beret.html,I've just knitted the I-Cord and I don't know what she means by grafting the live stitches though there is an option to sew the cords together I'd rather not!!I like challenges. I'm sure someone on here can help me figure this out.

I just started a pair of mittens tonight that are begun the exact same way. It said make the cord and then graft the ends together. It didn't say to begin with a provision cast on and I didn't. I made my 40 rows of i-cord and then realized that I can't graft it (as far as I know). So I took it out and I'm trying again with a provisional cast on. What I think you need to do is do a provisional cast on with waste yarn and make your i-cord out of project yarn, then take out the waste yarn to produce some live stitches to work with and with the live stitches you have at the other end when you finish your i-cord, graft the live stitches on each end together using a kitchener stitch. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it will look good.

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The Following User Says Thank You to MerigoldinWA For This Useful Post:

I just started a pair of mittens tonight that are begun the exact same way. It said make the cord and then graft the ends together. It didn't say to begin with a provision cast on and I didn't. I made my 40 rows of i-cord and then realized that I can't graft it (as far as I know). So I took it out and I'm trying again with a provisional cast on. What I think you need to do is do a provisional cast on with waste yarn and make your i-cord out of project yarn, then take out the waste yarn to produce some live stitches to work with and with the live stitches you have at the other end when you finish your i-cord, graft the live stitches on each end together using a kitchener stitch. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it will look good.

I think ll wait till you're done,let me know how it turned out..lol.I really dont feel like frogging my I-cord.I still think its possible with a knitted cast on until then we'll wait for the Gurus to give us an answer.

Well, I accomplished my first one. I did a provisional cast on. I happened to use a crochet cast on for mine but anything that will give you access to live stitches at the beginning will work. After I did the cast on row with the waste yarn I then knit one row with the project yarn in the regular way before I started bringing the yarn from the wrong side to do the i-cord. The pattern I had seemed to suggest that. It said to cast on and knit one row and then start the i-cord. I thought it sounded like a good idea because I wasn't sure how to do the grafting with all the twisting going on that you get from the i-cord.

Then I worked my i-cord (40 rows for my project, with a 4 st i-cord). I also did a little sample i-cord and tried connecting it with a regular kitchener stitch. I thought it worked after a fashion so I'd go for it on my project. I had DH do a search for me for a way to graft ends of i-cord and this is what he found. LINK This is a pretty good tutorial and shows an attached i-cord, but the joining situation is the same as ours. They also used a provisional cast on (theirs is probably better or easier than mine). They have a link at that page for how to do the PCO. Then they join the ends doing kitchener st which they also provide a link to.

I tried doing the kitchener the standard way. I've done it for years and could do it fine, but lately I can't get it to work. It should look just like the piece was knit together, perfectly seamless looking. I follow the steps but it never looks right (the last month or so). I seem to be kitchener challenged. But I can do it if I take all the stitches off the needles and just work it through them with my tapestry needle, following the path where the yarn should go if knit. I have a Vogue Knitting book (not magazine) and it shows pictures of how to do this. I get a perfect look using that way now but can't get it to work doing it on the needles like the link shows. You might want to do a small i-cord sample and try out what is shown.

What I did was to take the stitches off the needles and hold the i-cord so that the part that looked smooth was on the top on both ends and just worked them up. When I got to the end where the i-cord twisty thing interfered I just sort of duplicate stitched it somewhere to make it look finished. When I begin my mitten I'll pick up stitches so that the weird side of the last bit of join doesn't show. I think it will work fine.

Here is a link to how to graft off the needles if it is of any help/interest to you. LINK It is the second thing down the page, "Grafting with knitting off the needles". I just find it easier to see what is going on and make sure each stitch is laying the right way as I work it doing it that way. You might try a sample both ways and see what works best for you.

Well, I accomplished my first one. I did a provisional cast on. I happened to use a crochet cast on for mine but anything that will give you access to live stitches at the beginning will work. After I did the cast on row with the waste yarn I then knit one row with the project yarn in the regular way before I started bringing the yarn from the wrong side to do the i-cord. The pattern I had seemed to suggest that. It said to cast on and knit one row and then start the i-cord. I thought it sounded like a good idea because I wasn't sure how to do the grafting with all the twisting going on that you get from the i-cord.

Then I worked my i-cord (40 rows for my project, with a 4 st i-cord). I also did a little sample i-cord and tried connecting it with a regular kitchener stitch. I thought it worked after a fashion so I'd go for it on my project. I had DH do a search for me for a way to graft ends of i-cord and this is what he found. LINK This is a pretty good tutorial and shows an attached i-cord, but the joining situation is the same as ours. They also used a provisional cast on (theirs is probably better or easier than mine). They have a link at that page for how to do the PCO. Then they join the ends doing kitchener st which they also provide a link to.

I tried doing the kitchener the standard way. I've done it for years and could do it fine, but lately I can't get it to work. It should look just like the piece was knit together, perfectly seamless looking. I follow the steps but it never looks right (the last month or so). I seem to be kitchener challenged. But I can do it if I take all the stitches off the needles and just work it through them with my tapestry needle, following the path where the yarn should go if knit. I have a Vogue Knitting book (not magazine) and it shows pictures of how to do this. I get a perfect look using that way now but can't get it to work doing it on the needles like the link shows. You might want to do a small i-cord sample and try out what is shown.

What I did was to take the stitches off the needles and hold the i-cord so that the part that looked smooth was on the top on both ends and just worked them up. When I got to the end where the i-cord twisty thing interfered I just sort of duplicate stitched it somewhere to make it look finished. When I begin my mitten I'll pick up stitches so that the weird side of the last bit of join doesn't show. I think it will work fine.

Here is a link to how to graft off the needles if it is of any help/interest to you. LINK It is the second thing down the page, "Grafting with knitting off the needles". I just find it easier to see what is going on and make sure each stitch is laying the right way as I work it doing it that way. You might try a sample both ways and see what works best for you.

Thank you so much..I did mine with my regular knitted cast-on I figured out a way to pick up the 6stiches at the other edge of the cord from the link you posted. I really appricaite it 'll try to post a pic of the hat when its finished.

Here is a link to how to graft off the needles if it is of any help/interest to you. LINK It is the second thing down the page, "Grafting with knitting off the needles". I just find it easier to see what is going on and make sure each stitch is laying the right way as I work it doing it that way. You might try a sample both ways and see what works best for you.

Thank you SO much for that link! I've been trying to graft four lousy stitches of i-cord for well over an hour, and that is the one that got me through it!

Who knew that a four-year-old post would still be helpful?!

The Following User Says Thank You to JessicaJean For This Useful Post:

Thanks for bringing this up. Kitchener is one thing I just can't seem to get right. I dread it. I never thought to take it off the needles and do it that way. It looks easy. I think I'll give it a shot.